The New York Times reports that strikes by American and British forces in Yemen have had a limited impact on the offensive capabilities of the Houthi group, as they remain able to target ships in the Red Sea using missiles and drones.
American officials told the newspaper that locating Houthi targets has proven to be more challenging than anticipated.
The officials added that American and other Western intelligence agencies have not focused in recent years on gathering information about the Houthi's military capabilities, including their air defense systems, command centers, and locations for missile and drone production.
The airstrikes in Yemen have inflicted damage or destroyed about 90% of the targeted sites, however, the Houthis still retain about three-quarters of their missile and drone-launching capabilities, the officials explained.
The New York Times mentioned that the estimates of the damage to the Houthi military capabilities are the first detailed assessment of the strikes carried out by American and British warplanes and naval vessels, targeting nearly 30 sites in Yemen. This reveals the significant challenges facing the administration of President Joe Biden in deterring the Houthi group.
The paper quoted a statement from a U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff official who believed the recent strikes had achieved their goals of diminishing the Houthis' ability to carry out complex attacks with missiles and drones, similar to the attack they executed last Thursday in the Red Sea.
However, despite targeting 60 Houthi missiles and drones with more than 150 guided munitions, the American and British raids only destroyed or damaged about 20% to 30% of the group's offensive capabilities, most of which is mobile and can be readily concealed.
